The Story Behind 5 Banned Toys and Games
In honor of the lawn darts near-comeback, Popular Mechanics looks at some of the most dangerous toys of all time.
NFL Running Backs Hitting the Wall At 30
Sports Illustrated looks at some running backs who hit the wall at 30 years old.
The 5 Smelliest Foods You Should Never Bring to the Office
If you enjoy the company of your coworkers, don't bring these food to work to eat.
U.S. Mint rolls out a new penny
Check out the face lift of the penny.
In Pictures: 15 Kooky Inventions
Forbes.com trolled the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for some of the kookiest intellectual property on the books.
Search the Hardison & Cochran Blog
February 26, 2010
February 24, 2010
Avandia Back In The News Due To Recent Senate Report
If you've been reading the papers, reading news online or watching TV, you might have seen that the diabetes drug Avandia is being mentioned again. The information below, which is background on the drug, is from our main website.
The drug Avandia, manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline, is used to treat Type 2 diabetes by helping patients control their blood sugar levels. The drug has enjoyed phenomenal sales, with 60 million prescriptions written since 1999. However, if you have taken Avandia to control your diabetes, you should be aware this best-selling drug has been linked to serious, life-threatening side effects.
In May 2007, a New England Journal of Medicine study found that Avandia increased the risk of heart attacks by 43 percent. Two months later, an FDA panel acknowledged the elevated risk of heart attacks from the drug but decided to keep it on the market with a "black box" warning. Diabetics who have mild heart disease or problems with their kidneys are at an elevated risk of developing congestive heart failure.
Heart problems are not the only serious side effect from Avandia. Experiments by a Salk Institute researcher found that the diabetes drug actually promoted osteoporosis by slowing bone growth while also speeding up bone loss. That finding reinforced clinical studies that showed an increased risk of bone fractures among patients who took Avandia.
One of the most serious health effects associated with Avandia is the onset of primary pulmonary hypertension, or PPH. This is a rare condition that causes the narrowing of blood vessels and results in high blood pressure. PPH is a precursor to heart failure, and this risk is highest in patients taking insulin or medicines called nitrates. Patients who develop PPH face these dire consequences:
- Shortness of breath
- Dizziness
- Fainting or loss of consciousness
- Heart failure
- Death
The reason Avandia is back in the news is because of a recent Senate report. After a two year inquiry, which included researchers' studies of Avandia, internal GlaxoSmithKline documents and FDA documents, the report said that GlaxoSmithKline knew of the heart attack risks before the evidence became public. The report also questioned the FDA why it allowed a clinical trial of the drug after they had estimated over 80,000 heart attacks were caused by Avandia between 1999 and 2007. The full Senate report can be viewed here.
FROM THE SENATE REPORT:
"Had GSK considered Avandia's potential increased cardiovascular risk more seriously when the issue was first raised in 1999 ... some of these heart attacks may have been avoided"
"There is strong evidence that rosiglitazone [Avandia] confers an increased risk of [heart attacks] and heart failure compared to pioglitazone [rival drug on market]." They concluded and trials comparing the two would be "unethical and exploitive."
"GSK executives attempted to intimidate independent physicians, focused on strategies to minimize or misrepresent findings that Avandia may increase cardiovascular risk and sought ways to downplay findings that a competing drug might reduce cardiovascular risk."
RECENT AVANDIA NEWS ARTICLES:
-Senate report: Avandia maker knew of cardiac risks By BARBARA ORTUTAY
-Senate report links diabetes drug Avandia to heart attacks CNN
-Senate report ties GlaxoSmithKline diabetes drug Avandia to heart attack risks WASHINGTON POST
The drug Avandia, manufactured by GlaxoSmithKline, is used to treat Type 2 diabetes by helping patients control their blood sugar levels. The drug has enjoyed phenomenal sales, with 60 million prescriptions written since 1999. However, if you have taken Avandia to control your diabetes, you should be aware this best-selling drug has been linked to serious, life-threatening side effects.
In May 2007, a New England Journal of Medicine study found that Avandia increased the risk of heart attacks by 43 percent. Two months later, an FDA panel acknowledged the elevated risk of heart attacks from the drug but decided to keep it on the market with a "black box" warning. Diabetics who have mild heart disease or problems with their kidneys are at an elevated risk of developing congestive heart failure.
Heart problems are not the only serious side effect from Avandia. Experiments by a Salk Institute researcher found that the diabetes drug actually promoted osteoporosis by slowing bone growth while also speeding up bone loss. That finding reinforced clinical studies that showed an increased risk of bone fractures among patients who took Avandia.
One of the most serious health effects associated with Avandia is the onset of primary pulmonary hypertension, or PPH. This is a rare condition that causes the narrowing of blood vessels and results in high blood pressure. PPH is a precursor to heart failure, and this risk is highest in patients taking insulin or medicines called nitrates. Patients who develop PPH face these dire consequences:
- Shortness of breath
- Dizziness
- Fainting or loss of consciousness
- Heart failure
- Death
The reason Avandia is back in the news is because of a recent Senate report. After a two year inquiry, which included researchers' studies of Avandia, internal GlaxoSmithKline documents and FDA documents, the report said that GlaxoSmithKline knew of the heart attack risks before the evidence became public. The report also questioned the FDA why it allowed a clinical trial of the drug after they had estimated over 80,000 heart attacks were caused by Avandia between 1999 and 2007. The full Senate report can be viewed here.
FROM THE SENATE REPORT:
"Had GSK considered Avandia's potential increased cardiovascular risk more seriously when the issue was first raised in 1999 ... some of these heart attacks may have been avoided"
"There is strong evidence that rosiglitazone [Avandia] confers an increased risk of [heart attacks] and heart failure compared to pioglitazone [rival drug on market]." They concluded and trials comparing the two would be "unethical and exploitive."
"GSK executives attempted to intimidate independent physicians, focused on strategies to minimize or misrepresent findings that Avandia may increase cardiovascular risk and sought ways to downplay findings that a competing drug might reduce cardiovascular risk."
RECENT AVANDIA NEWS ARTICLES:
-Senate report: Avandia maker knew of cardiac risks By BARBARA ORTUTAY
-Senate report links diabetes drug Avandia to heart attacks CNN
-Senate report ties GlaxoSmithKline diabetes drug Avandia to heart attack risks WASHINGTON POST
February 19, 2010
Friday Feed #41
A look at some of the world’s biggest foods
Big, but edible, foods.
25 Beautiful Examples of Action Sequence Photography
Sequence photography is a technique of shooting a series of images in where the subject is captured in successive motion. Sequence photography is a wonderful way of conveying motion in a static image.
No Humans, Just Robots – Amazing Videos of the Modern Factory
Check out some video of modern factory robots going to work.
The 10 most most valuable brands in the world
Brand Finance has published its 2010 Global 500 Survey of the world's most valuable brands. Here are the top ten.
Memorable Recalls
Newsweek looks back at some famous recalls.
Big, but edible, foods.
25 Beautiful Examples of Action Sequence Photography
Sequence photography is a technique of shooting a series of images in where the subject is captured in successive motion. Sequence photography is a wonderful way of conveying motion in a static image.
No Humans, Just Robots – Amazing Videos of the Modern Factory
Check out some video of modern factory robots going to work.
The 10 most most valuable brands in the world
Brand Finance has published its 2010 Global 500 Survey of the world's most valuable brands. Here are the top ten.
Memorable Recalls
Newsweek looks back at some famous recalls.
February 18, 2010
Hardison & Associates Client Testimonial John N. of Henderson, NC
Hardison & Associates workers' compensation client, John N., tells of his experiences with our firm and how we handled his case.
February 16, 2010
Toyota Recall Information From Bob Kraft
If you're a regular reader, you may have seen us talk about our good friend Bob Kraft (that's Mr. Kraft's picture to the left) and his blog, P.I.S.S.D. Well, Mr. Kraft has been keeping up with the Toyota recall and we couldn't bring you more in depth coverage if we tried. Today we're going to link to the blog posts Mr. Kraft has had on the subject where you can be informed on the topic:Toyota Says It Will Start Fixing Recalled Cars
In this blog post, Mr. Kraft shares information in a NY Times article about Toyota fixing the recalled automobiles.
This post goes over Toyota's plans to fix the pedal problem.
Transportation Chief Keeps Pressure on Toyota
Post about the Federal Government pressuring Toyota to correct the problem.
Transportation Chief Keeps Pressure on Toyota
Post about the Federal Government pressuring Toyota to correct the problem.
Along with pedal sticking problems, Toyota has brake problems with the Prius.
Mr. Kraft offers a wrap up of all the Toyota news on February 10th.
Another post wrapping up a day of news.
Insurance Rates Not Accelerated by Toyota Recall
Mr. Kraft shares a Q&A about Insurance with the recalls from ABC News.
Mr. Kraft shares a Q&A about Insurance with the recalls from ABC News.
You can check out Mr. Kraft's law firm page here.
February 15, 2010
Social Security Administration Adds 38 New Compassionate Allowance Conditions
If you are a regular reader of the blog, you may remember a post we brought you in August of 2009 about Compassionate Allowances in the Social Security Disability system. To review, "Compassionate Allowances" are medical conditions which clearly meet the requirements for Social Security benefits. Due to clearly meeting the requirements, benefits can start sooner and can save the stress of a long process of determination.In the August blogpost we also mentioned that the Social Security Commissioner, Michael Asture, was in the process of holding public outreach meeting in an effort to learn more and expand the Compassionate Allowance list in the future.
On Thursday February 11th, the Social Security Administration added 38 more conditions to the original list of 50. The original list contained 25 rare diseases and 25 cancers and was announced in October of 2008.
A list of the 38 conditions added to the list can be found here.
Quotes from Micahel Asture, Social Security Administration Commissioner:
“The addition of these new conditions expands the scope of Compassionate Allowances to a broader subgroup of conditions like early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. The expansion we are announcing today means tens of thousands of Americans with devastating disabilities will now get approved for benefits in a matter of days rather than months and years.”
“We will continue to hold hearings and look for other diseases and conditions that can be added to our list of Compassionate Allowances. There can be no higher priority than getting disability benefits quickly to those Americans with these severe and life-threatening conditions.”
“The addition of these new conditions expands the scope of Compassionate Allowances to a broader subgroup of conditions like early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. The expansion we are announcing today means tens of thousands of Americans with devastating disabilities will now get approved for benefits in a matter of days rather than months and years.”
“We will continue to hold hearings and look for other diseases and conditions that can be added to our list of Compassionate Allowances. There can be no higher priority than getting disability benefits quickly to those Americans with these severe and life-threatening conditions.”
February 12, 2010
Hardison & Associates' Client Speaks With WRAL Channel 5 News
Hardison & Associates' client, Rich Huether, and attorney Benjamin T. Cochran speak with WRAL Channel 5.
Friday Feed #40
Strangest McFoods from Around the World
Not all McDonald's have the same exact menu. So check out some of the strangest from around the world.
Valentine's Day By The Numbers
Bill Shrink has a graphic on his blog that shows how people spend their time and spend their money for the Holiday of Love.
Visualizing 6 Years of Facebook
Mashable.com mocked up a graphic showing some stats of facebook over the six years it's been around.
New Telescope Captures Dazzling Image of Orion Nebula
The Orion Nebula is located about 1,350 light-years from Earth. The cloud of gas and dust is a nursery for young stars. It also makes for an amazing view.
Not all McDonald's have the same exact menu. So check out some of the strangest from around the world.
Valentine's Day By The Numbers
Bill Shrink has a graphic on his blog that shows how people spend their time and spend their money for the Holiday of Love.
Visualizing 6 Years of Facebook
Mashable.com mocked up a graphic showing some stats of facebook over the six years it's been around.
New Telescope Captures Dazzling Image of Orion Nebula
The Orion Nebula is located about 1,350 light-years from Earth. The cloud of gas and dust is a nursery for young stars. It also makes for an amazing view.
February 11, 2010
9 Common Mistakes That Can Destroy Your Workers' Compensation Case Is Now Available Online
If you scroll down this blog you will run into pictures of 4 books we make available to the residents of North Carolina free of charge. Seeing that some people need the information now, we have made the workers' compensation book penned by Benjamin T. Cochran available via slide-share.net.
Slide-share.net is basically to Power Point presentations as You Tube is to the video. Check out the slide show of the book 9 Common Mistakes That Can Destroy Your Workers' Compensation Case And How To Avoid Making Them. As always, if you would like a free copy of the book, all you have to do is go here or call us at 1-800-600-7969 and let us know which booked you'd like and we'll put it in the mail the same day.
February 10, 2010
Honda Recalls 379,000 Cars Due To Airbag Hazard
Honda has announced that they are expanding a recall originally made public in July 2009 for a defect in the airbag system in 2001-02 Accords and Civics. Honda, who also makes the Acura brand, also announced it may affect 2002 TL's. The expansion of the recall now puts 2001-02 Odyssey and CV-R's into the model's recalled. Additionally, one Honda Pilot and one Acura CL may be affected.The main focus of the recall is an airbag inflator. In the makes and models listed above it has been found that some can expand with too much pressure. When the pressure builds, the inflator casing will become weak and can break causing injury or even death. The airbag defect has been linked back to a total of 11 injuries and one fatality.
You can view Honda's official word on the recall here.
February 9, 2010
Wilson, North Carolina MDA Lock Up Results Are In
MDA Fundraising Coordinator, Mary Gifford, shows Wilson MDA Lock-up participants a piece of art that can be won by being the next "jailbird" to lock up a $25 dollar donation. The event took place at the Wilson Arts Council in Wilson, North Carolina on January 27th, 2010. If you have been following the blog, you know we like to get out to all the MDA Lock Ups in the Eastern North Carolina district. For this reason, we are excited to follow up and bring you news about the Lock Ups like the one we recently attended in Wilson, North Carolina.
After calculating all the funds up, the event in Wilson reached its goal and raised over $43,000 to help the MDA families in the area. This is great news and is a great start to the 2010 Lock Up season. Wilson, without a doubt, brought their best on January 27th.
For all the pictures from the event check out the photo album: Wilson MDA Lock-up 2010
February 5, 2010
Friday Feed #39: Super Bowl Edition
The Friday Feed is going to get you set-up for the big game this Sunday.
Information:
Official Super Bowl Website
Official Super Bowl Website
Articles:
February 3, 2010
Social Security Awards Nearly $20 Million in Recovery Act Contracts For Electronic Medical Records
The following is a press release from the Social Security Administration concerning the push to make records electronic. Making files electronic will cut down on time as the paper bound workload is the most time consuming of the disability process. It will also cut down costs for the American taxpayer. This has been discussed on the Hardison & Associates blog before here and here.Michael J. Astrue, Commissioner of Social Security, today announced that 15 healthcare providers and networks have received $17.4 million in contract awards to provide electronic medical records to the agency. These electronic medical records, which will be sent through the Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN), will significantly shorten the time it takes to make a disability decision and will improve the speed, accuracy, and efficiency of the disability program.
“Using health information technology will improve our disability programs and provide better service to the public,” Commissioner Astrue said. “We’ve seen a significant increase in disability applications. To process them, the agency sends more than 15 million requests annually for medical records to healthcare providers. This largely paper-bound workload is generally the most time-consuming part of the disability decision process. The use of health IT will dramatically improve the speed, accuracy, and efficiency of this process, reducing the cost of making a disability decision for both the medical community and the American taxpayer.”
The contract awards are funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. They will require awardees, with a patient’s authorization, to send Social Security electronic medical records through the NHIN. The NHIN, a safe and secure method for receiving access to electronic medical records over the Internet, is an initiative of the Department of Health and Human Services supported by multiple government agencies and private sector entities.
For the last year, Social Security has been successfully testing health IT to obtain electronic medical records. Disability applications processed with electronic medical records from the test sites in Massachusetts and Virginia have significantly reduced processing times. Some decisions are now made in days, instead of weeks or months. Social Security expects to receive more than 3.3 million applications in fiscal year (FY) 2010, a 27 percent increase over FY 2008.
Contracts were awarded to the following organizations:
Cal RHIO, San Francisco, CA - $1,625,000
CareSpark, Kingsport, TN - $1,363,000
Center for Healthy Communities, Wright State University, Healthlink, Dayton, OH - $999,000
Central Virginia Health Network/MedVirginia, Richmond, VA - $1,139,000
Community Health Information Collaborative (CHIC), Duluth, MN - $977,000
Douglas County Individual Practice Association, Roseburg, OR - $502,000
EHR Doctors Inc., Pompano Beach, FL - $1,000,000
HealthBridge, Cincinnati, OH - $1,400,000
Lovelace Clinic Foundation (LCF), Albuquerque, NM - $1,083,000
Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation, Marshfield, WI - $998,000
Memorial Hospital Foundation & Memorial Hospital of Gulfport Foundation, Inc., Gulfport, MS - $1,100,000
Oregon Community Health Information Network (OCHIN), Portland, OR - $284,000
Regenstrief Institute, Inc, Indianapolis, IN - $350,000
Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), Reston, VA - $1,587,000
Southeastern Michigan Health Association, Detroit, MI - $2,988,000
More information on Social Security’s use of health IT is available at www.socialsecurity.gov/hit.
“Using health information technology will improve our disability programs and provide better service to the public,” Commissioner Astrue said. “We’ve seen a significant increase in disability applications. To process them, the agency sends more than 15 million requests annually for medical records to healthcare providers. This largely paper-bound workload is generally the most time-consuming part of the disability decision process. The use of health IT will dramatically improve the speed, accuracy, and efficiency of this process, reducing the cost of making a disability decision for both the medical community and the American taxpayer.”
The contract awards are funded through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. They will require awardees, with a patient’s authorization, to send Social Security electronic medical records through the NHIN. The NHIN, a safe and secure method for receiving access to electronic medical records over the Internet, is an initiative of the Department of Health and Human Services supported by multiple government agencies and private sector entities.
For the last year, Social Security has been successfully testing health IT to obtain electronic medical records. Disability applications processed with electronic medical records from the test sites in Massachusetts and Virginia have significantly reduced processing times. Some decisions are now made in days, instead of weeks or months. Social Security expects to receive more than 3.3 million applications in fiscal year (FY) 2010, a 27 percent increase over FY 2008.
Contracts were awarded to the following organizations:
Cal RHIO, San Francisco, CA - $1,625,000
CareSpark, Kingsport, TN - $1,363,000
Center for Healthy Communities, Wright State University, Healthlink, Dayton, OH - $999,000
Central Virginia Health Network/MedVirginia, Richmond, VA - $1,139,000
Community Health Information Collaborative (CHIC), Duluth, MN - $977,000
Douglas County Individual Practice Association, Roseburg, OR - $502,000
EHR Doctors Inc., Pompano Beach, FL - $1,000,000
HealthBridge, Cincinnati, OH - $1,400,000
Lovelace Clinic Foundation (LCF), Albuquerque, NM - $1,083,000
Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation, Marshfield, WI - $998,000
Memorial Hospital Foundation & Memorial Hospital of Gulfport Foundation, Inc., Gulfport, MS - $1,100,000
Oregon Community Health Information Network (OCHIN), Portland, OR - $284,000
Regenstrief Institute, Inc, Indianapolis, IN - $350,000
Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC), Reston, VA - $1,587,000
Southeastern Michigan Health Association, Detroit, MI - $2,988,000
More information on Social Security’s use of health IT is available at www.socialsecurity.gov/hit.
February 2, 2010
The Disability Resource Exchange
As you can see to the right we are on Twitter. Since we've been on there, we have been following some great folks who are a blast to follow, but yesterday we came across a great website that we had to talk about today on the blog.
About the disability resource exchangeDisability resource exchange is a place to discuss disability issues and exchange resources ideas and support. whether you have a disability/health issue or are just interested in disability issues you are welcome to join this social network.
We found the website by following Rudy. Rudy has built a website called "Disability Resource Exchange." The following is official word about the website from Rudy:
About the disability resource exchangeDisability resource exchange is a place to discuss disability issues and exchange resources ideas and support. whether you have a disability/health issue or are just interested in disability issues you are welcome to join this social network.
The disability resource exchange mission
To bring together all those interested in disability issues both people with and without disabilities- to bring together people and organizations within the disability community and to foster a spirit of cooperation- To be a place with a supportive atmosphere where we can all learn from each other
That's some great stuff right there. The awesome thing about the site is that its bringing together people to build something better and stronger. It allows a place for people to share no only their links to more information on the internet, but their experiences and their expertise. When going through a hard time, sometimes you just need someone there telling you they've been through it before as well. As of this posting, there are close to 900 members and we hope this post can spare at least a couple more.
Rudy has done a great job building this site, so why not check it out.
February 1, 2010
Benjamin T. Cochran Included In 2010 North Carolina Super Lawyer Rising Star List
Benjamin T. Cochran, Managing Partner of the North Carolina personal injury law firm Hardison & Associates, has been named by North Carolina Super Lawyers magazine as a Rising Star in North Carolina for 2010.The selections for Super Lawyers are made by Law & Politics, a division of Key Professional Media, Inc. of Minneapolis, Minnesota. Each year, Law & Politics undertakes a rigorous multi-phase selection process that includes a statewide survey of lawyers, independent evaluation of candidates by Law & Politics’ attorney-led research staff, a peer review of candidates by practice area, and a good-standing disciplinary check.
Mr. Cochran has been representing injured employees in North Carolina since 2002. A graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law, he is a Board Certified Specialist in Workers’ Compensation Law. Less than one percent of North Carolina attorneys have achieved this distinction.
He holds memberships in the American Trial Lawyers Association and the North Carolina Advocates for Justice where he is in the Leaders’ Forum. As a compassionate believer in educating others of their rights, he often speaks publicly and has authored a book, 9 Common Mistakes That Can Ruin Your Workers’ Compensation Case And How To Avoid Making Them, for residents of the Tar Heel State.
Benjamin T. Cochran's Super Lawyer profile can be viewed here.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)